You Don't Know Where That's Been

Spaceports and Spidersilk December 2009 Fantasy, 1,300 words

Trash heaps at the road side are full of cool treasure, but Drew’s mom doesn’t understand, and she insists that his finds are dangerous junk that’s full of germs. Maybe—as Drew suspects after he brings home a mysterious amulet that makes him itch and break out in dragon scales—she’s right.

Reprinted in IN PIECES.